Rose Noire
by Piercing Thorn
Summary: Detective Shibuya faces his toughest and most enigmatic case yet. Appearances can be decieving. HIGH T!
1. Chapter 1

hi everyone! so I'm back from my vacation: florida is the best when wanting to escape snow and cold weather and now I'm back with a new story! people are going to start getting annoyed with me but this is going tobe my baby for a while and I'm going to put off all other projects to work solely on this one. however, if I get a decent amount of reviews on this story I might consider posting what I have of chapter 12 for let the games begin

anyways, this story was inspired by a new comicy manga I read called Todd Alison and the Petunia Violet. it's AWESOME! my story takes place around the era of who framed roger rabbit or annie; i'm not exactly sure which one it fits into most right now...

One more thing; this is rated a high T because it mentions adult related themes but does not go into detail; minimal to none in these first few chaters but towards the end it will have hints...

Disclaimer: unless I get the rights for Christmas I do not own Ghost Hunt.

* * *

Crime. It was everywhere these days it seemed. People were getting shot in the streets, wealthy people were getting kidnapped, gangs were bombing government buildings, and as recently as last week a valuable Madonna painting had been stolen right out of the British museum of Fine Arts. Overall, it was a very bad time to be living in England, unless you were him of course.

Being a private eye was very tough these days. Not only were you always knocking heads with Scotland Yard, but you were also forced to compete with the numerous private detectives in London as well. And _those_ people would take on the simplest and most easy cases to solve -the only thing keeping the clients from doing the job themselves was abject laziness- it gave the clients excitement in their days if nothing else he supposed. Why though? Why take on such easy cases if you were supposed to be a great man to solve nearly impossible problems; like Sherlock Holmes? Why indeed. The answer to that broad and broken up question was as simple as breathing air. It was to make themselves seem like better detectives than they actually were. The fools. At the moment, all those other "detectives" were closing their offices to the general public to focus on finding the Madonna; mostly to claim the reward and prestige for finding it rather than returning a precious treasure to the art world.

Except for him of course. Why bother? The so-called detective who'd find it in the first place would have a smoke before going out to get piss-roaring drunk celebrating his victory first rather than returning it; simply to make the news that whoever found it that much more dramatic with embellishments. Of course, he'd boast about it in the bar; a den of thieves if ever there was one, about where he'd found and hidden it. Being so drunk he wouldn't remember telling that shady character the story in exchange for more brews the next morning. But by then, it would be too late. The Madonna would be gone once more, and the vicious cycle would start all over again. Besides, what need did he have for glory or money? He already had money, courtesy of his extremely wealthy parents. And as for a high place in society? He was smarter than most people his age; always had been. He was the one who'd graduated from Oxford at the age of fifteen with a doctorate degree in criminal psychology. _He_ was Oliver Davis for crying out loud!

Well, he mused, he used to be at any rate. On his eighteenth birthday; all he'd asked for was enough money to rent out -or buy, as the way his parents liked to spoil him- a flat in the center of town and start up his own business. They'd given it to him without protest; knowing he was old enough and that it was time he made a life for himself. It was from that day on he went under the alias Kazuya Shibuya, private eye. One might wonder why he'd given up the baronial splendor in which he spent his childhood in exchange for the humdrum and hardship of a mere middle class citizen. Truth be told, with his expertise in problem solving coupled with his knowledge of how the criminal mind worked; he didn't expect to stay a middle class citizen for long. However, this was a matter of pride; he wanted his fame as an adult to be his own. The prestige from before came from the fact that he was allowed to attend Oxford at such age was thanks to his parent's influence at the school. At any rate, it didn't matter what his name was; what mattered was that he was damn good at his job.

When it came to looking for a private detective who wasn't a babbling idiot; he was the real deal. Able to solve tougher cases in less than half the time it took the other members of his profession to solve cases of easy-medium difficulty; the ones they all used to press their prestige higher. He never did; and it wasn't because he didn't drink. A glass of fine wine on occasion for functions and family events, but his tolerance level for alcohol was barely above "this stuff is awful never serve it to me again!" and he always had a sneaking suspicion of tobacco being bad for one's body. All too often while he walked the streets did he see men coughing as though they'd come down with a severe case of tuberculosis, yet even as they doubled themselves over in the coughing fits they lit their pipes and took a long drag. But back to the point, he didn't boast about his accomplishments. He'd know from the get-go that he was better than them all and continually proving that fact to himself was enough for him. Unfortunately, it also boosted his ego to new heights; those same heights prompting him to only take on the most challenging or unusual of cases, more often than not they fit both criteria. It was the reason why business was slow, but doing work without a challenge was even worse in his eyes. At least with slow business he could spend his office hours in leisure the way he wanted to rather than spying on a woman whose husband was claiming adultery on.

That's why the knock at his office door surprised him. It was midway through the afternoon; others were preparing their afternoon tea and so no one with any decency for social decorum would be out and about. He looked up from his book and placed it spine up on the desk near where he'd propped his feet up as he reclined in his leather back chair. Uncrossing his lower limbs he transitioned into a proper sitting position from his lazy languid reclining moments before. Very lax and unprofessional for someone of his character in his line of work; but it was far better to be comfortable while physically doing nothing than not. Standing from the chair he let himself stretch lightly after staying in the same position for god knows how long. Finished with the little bout of exercise he left the room; entering the larger part of his office space. This was more of a living room compared to the one he'd just been in, but it was okay; he liked the smaller room. The living room felt almost too large and spacious for him alone so he used it to meet with clients and organize case information. That other little room was his inner sanctum; where he relaxed, ate and slept more often than not. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd slept on the silken sheets of his bed in his own high-rise flat.

The door leading into the hallway of the office building where his business was stationed swung open to reveal the last type of person he expected to see at this time of day. A woman, not much younger than himself, stood in front of his door glancing both ways down the hall of the third floor. Apparently not noticing the door before her opening thanks to the greased hinges which allowed it to glide open and shut silently with ease, he took this chance to study the creature before him.

She was of average height these days, though slightly taller than all the ones he knew. A petite, yet more curvaceous than not woman with hair a mix of cinnamon and chestnut that ran down her back liquidly. Two large portions near the front of her head were sanctioned off to help her bangs frame her face. Keeping them apart from the rest of her hair was a gold headband with a fake rose the color of ebony stuck to the far left side; standing out at an angle against the round shape of her head. Her clothes were plain, yet elegant in their own right; or was that just because of her? A dark blue high collar button down which seemed to be made of silk paired with a cotton knee-length skirt the color of a new moon; black as charcoal over laid with a plain brown coat; the most functional part of her outfit yet.

The woman looked directly at him now; he was slightly stunned by her large vision plates. The coloring of her irises reminding him of molten caramel; his favorite tea creamer. For a moment, caramel was locked to sapphire; neither could speak, neither could move.

"Um, excuse me for interrupting," the woman began; her voice slightly shyer than he expected. "is this the office of detective Shibuya? The guy renowned for solving difficult cases?"

Kazuya blinked. "Yes, did you have an appointment with me today?" he inquired.

The maiden blushed slightly, as if not expecting him to be the man she was looking for. "Uh, no. I'm afraid I'm not very good at keeping appointments, so I never make them. But may I come in for a moment? T-that is, if you're not busy with another client already…" she trailed off looking both ways down the hall once more before looking his way again. It was obvious she was uncomfortable just standing out there in the corridor, as though afraid someone was watching her.

"I believe you've been blessed with good fortune today." The detective told her. "Business has been rather slow lately and I was just about to close my office for the day. Come in, and we'll see if I'll be able to take your case."

"Thank you." The woman replied gratefully, her black suede flats clapping an echo on the hardwood and linoleum flooring as she crossed the threshold and into the office.

Closing the door behind him detective Shibuya turned to see the mystery woman already comfortably settled on the couch; her coat hanging neatly over the arm. Feeling a little over-dressed for some reason, he shrugged out of his indoor jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves to just under his elbows; his black suspenders, pants, and tie a stark contrast to the pure white colored material. The one thing he never took off was his tan fedora with the black stripe near the brim. It sat proudly; perched at a slight angle on his head. It was the sole memory of a happier past which had long since been dead.

Ruefully shaking his head he settled into the armchair across from the woman. "Now, what seems to be the problem miss..?" he trailed off realizing the woman had not yet introduced herself.

"Mai Taniyama; nineteen years old, unmarried." The woman, Mai replied.

"Detective Kazuya Shibuya; twenty-one years old, also unmarried." He introduced himself, though he didn't know why he felt the need to tack on that he was also unmarried.

Mai gave him a speculative look. "Been twenty-one for long?" she asked conversationally.

"A few weeks give or take, why the interest?"

She smiled. "I could tell. You don't seem like you're very comfortable with your age right now; always happens when you get another year older. Takes you nearly an entire year to get used to it and by then, well you're back to square one essentially."

Who was this strange woman with silly, childish, yet strangely adult notions? She was odd, and interesting.

He looked at her for a moment or two, trying to decide his next words; he never did that before either. "Are you from around here Miss Taniyama? You look of foreign descent, yet you speak English as well as anyone born and raised here."

"Mai please detective Shibuya, and I suppose I could say the same about you." She replied, "In all actuality I'm English, but I was born in Japan. My grandparents on both sides immigrated to England. My parents met in japan when they went back to explore their roots. The fell in love, married, and had me. But because my mother was of fragile health they waited until after I was born to bring me back home. I was raised so I know both Japanese and English."

"Bilingual? Impressive, I wouldn't have thought you capable of it."

"Well," Mai sniffed sardonically. "I suppose there is a cliché that explains the situation."

"And that would be?"

"Things are not always what they seem." Mai reiterated. "Now if we could get to the reason I'm here."

"Ah, yes; what seems to be the problem?" enough pleasantries, it was time to get down to business.

"Well, I'm afraid it's not something unheard of these days." Here Mai shifted in her seat.

"I can't even say if I could help if you don't tell me what it is."

"I'm afraid I'm being threatened." She finally said. "I was sent a letter. From Rose Noire; they've kidnapped a family member and want a hundred thousand pounds -around $162540.00 U.S. - for their safe return."

Rose Noire. He'd heard of them before. They were a gang mostly centralized in England, though they had members stationed in other parts of the world as well. They were known for many crimes; but kidnapping a common woman's family member had never been on that list. But it wasn't his jurisdiction.

"I'm sorry for this tragedy, but I think it's best you take this to Scotland Yard." He replied.

"You think you were the first person I came to?" she asked. "I already went there. But everyone is so preoccupied with finding that painting that they won't take my case. I've tried every other detective in the area but they're all closed for the same reason. Please, I need you help!" she beseeched him.

"Miss Taniyama, surely you've heard that I only take the most difficult of cases. A simple case of kidnapping for ransom is not challenging in the least. Take it elsewhere."

Mai closed her eyes, a hitched scoff slipping past her lips as tears started leaking out. "I should have known. You're just a coward, an arrogant coward. Perhaps your name shouldn't be Kazuya Shibuya. It should be Naru the narcissist!"

Ouch. She just _had_ to say that, didn't she? And apparently she learned Japanese first because she was lisping into the accent that came with speaking it for so long; making Naru sound like a heavily accented version of Noll. That nickname… no! The past was dead and buried and he'd be damned if he let a stupid thing like emotions dig it up from said grave.

Pinching the patch of skin between his eyebrows Kazuya let out a sigh as he made his final decision. "Who was it that was kidnapped?"

Mai looked up from her lap; her view of choice when silently sobbing. "Uh… Um…" she seemed choked up, not able to speak. "m-mother." She finally spit out.

"How do you know she was kidnapped and simply did not go out for a holiday?" the detective pressed.

"Lives with me. Can't hear, can't speak." Obviously she was still regaining her speaking abilities.

"And why can she not speak or hear?"

"Her age limits everything but her looks I'm afraid." Mai shrugged. "I went out on an overnight errand yesterday and when I came back this morning she was gone. Can you please help me Naru?"

"Are you going to keep calling me that?" he asked in reply.

"Probably, once I nickname people; it just kinda sticks." She replied sheepishly.

"Try and refrain from calling me that. At any rate; how long do you have to get the money?" Naru shook his head; he couldn't believe he was letting this woman give him a pet name.

"Why do you need to know that?" Mai asked.

"So I know how long we have to find and rescue her you idiot." Naru replied.

"Hey!" Mai cried indignantly.

"What? Are you a horse now?" Naru cynically raised a brow at her.

Mai looked as though she wanted to retort but held her tongue. Instead she pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it. "It says I have until the tenth of October." She looked up as though just realizing something; knowing her she probably just had. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"_We_ are going to gather information about where your mother is being held. When we find your mother _I_ will go in and rescue her for you." Naru explained.

"Fat chance of that!" Mai protested. "I'm not a fragile little girl who needs to be protected. I can handle myself; I'm coming with you no matter where you go."

Naru sent her a smirk coupled with a raised brow and a swift perusal of her figure to make her realize she needed to watch what she said. If he'd been a lesser male he'd have found a way to apply that in a way following more towards his personal satisfaction rather than the safe return of this girl's mother. Mai seemed to understand because her cheeks pinked, before going flush with anger as she realized the detective was teasing her.

"Narcissistic jerk!" she practically squeaked. She was easy to fluster; nice to know.

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this conversation; I think it's best that we start gathering more details about this kidnapping." He said standing up and grabbing his coats. Mai followed suit; and he locked the door to his office behind them.

"Where are we going Naru?" Mai asked as they walked along the street.

"A place to get information." He replied vaguely.

"Well _duh_; I know that. But where exactly?" she asked once more.

"Don't worry. It should be easy enough to get information easily since the whole investigative profession of London is so focused on finding that Madonna." Naru assured her.

"I guess…" Mai said dubiously.

They came upon an old brick building in the slums of town near dusk. Seemed as though no one lived there since the place looked to be either abandoned or condemned. Planks boarded up the windows, the sills beneath were slowly crumbling to dust. The railings that once lined the front steps were long since gone.

"_This_ is where we came to get information? But it looks unfit to live in." Mai said shooting a wary glance as the brick, well edifice compared to all the other buildings.

"Of course it does. We're in the _slums_ of town. Remember?" Naru replied. "Now follow me and don't make a sound." And with that last remark; went up the front steps and pushed in the wooden door barely hanging on its hinges.

Though the outside was dingy and unkempt; the interior was worse by comparison. Holes dotted the floorboards like spots on a ladybug's back. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and over dust covered furniture. The staircase on the far left had split steps like a fighter with a split lip. Doorframes sagged under the weight of the walls. It reminded Mai of a house of horrors.

"I really don't like being here." Mai whispered to Naru as they crept along.

"And you think I do?" he asked in reply.

Not knowing how to respond to that; Mai simply kept her mouth shut and tiptoed precariously behind him. Together, he maneuvered them through ancient looking rooms and creepy hallways to the back. At least, she presumed it was the back of the structure. The way the walls twisted and turned made it hard to tell for sure.

The finally reached the room Naru had been looking for. The door was shut; but one could see light pouring forth from every crack it had. Knocking three times he stood back and waited for the occupant behind the door to open it. They waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Well it felt like it because Mai was completely creeped out and just wanted to do what they came here to do and leave. At last; the door opened to reveal a young bespectacled man with silver hair; as if he'd aged before his time.

He looked at who was interrupting whatever it was he was doing. Upon seeing Naru his face broadened into a grin.

"Shibuya! Good to see you again! You got another case? Or did you just drop by to visit little old me?"

"Enough jokes Yasuhara. I require your services." Naru replied.

"Very well. Come in." Yasuhara stepped to the side to usher the young man forth when he noticed the companion who had joined him. "And who might this _lovely_ young lady be huh?" he stepped forward to take Mai's hand and place a sloppily over-exaggerated kiss on it.

"My client. Back off." Naru said curtly stepping out and physically removing Mai's hand from the other man's grasp. "You have a job of your own. I suggest you go and do it."

"Ah, so cruel!" Yasu put a hand to his heart before chuckling and heading back inside.

"Who _is_ that guy?" Mai whispered as she and Naru crossed into the other room.

"Yasuhara Omarasu. Don't get too close to him unless you have the desire to be molested." Naru advised.

Mai shuddered at the idea. As they got a good look around Mai couldn't believe her eyes. The three walls of this room were floor to ceiling bookcases. This was amazing!

"Now, before we begin; do you have my substantial? Yasu asked.

Naru pulled out three books from a bag he'd gotten after a quick stop on the way here. "You think I'm some sort of fool?"

Yasu greedily collected the books and returned to his dingy desk where an assortment of tools were laid out lit by an even dingier table lamp. Flipping through the pages of each book quickly he sighed.

"Is this really the best they can do? Honestly Shibuya you could write better horror stories than this and you're the most emotionless person I know."

"What is he?" Mai whispered.

"A bookkeeper." Naru replied. "Now; had any visitors lately?" he asked the man at the desk.

"Depends; what visitors you lookin' for?" Yasu said not lifting his eyes from the page of the book he had to have been working on before Naru interrupted him.

"Rose noire visitors." Was Naru's reply.

"Huh, now that you mention it; a bunch of them have been using some of the rooms to lay low in lately."

"You've seen them?" Mai asked.

"Nah, I don't leave this room much 'specially not when bands a thieves're hangin' 'round."

"But then how do you know they were there?"

"I got ears don't I plus a handy little tube system in the usable rooms. I can listen in to any conversation I want. It's more fun than the radio."

"Quaint. Hear what any of them said?" Naru cut in.

"Most; 'cept for one. Him; not really. He was talking to himself; speaking too low for me to hear properly. All I could really make out was that he was nervous 'bout something. First murder, watched a comrade get killed; don't know, don't ask. Cleared out this morning. Didn't catch where he was going but out the window I did see he was carrying some sort of bundle. Saw him get in his car and head west back the way you came. Might want to follow that route."

"Well; it's too dark now. I think we should just head back to our houses." Naru told Mai.

Mai nodded vigorously; eager not to spend another moment in the creepy building, let alone a whole night.

"Y'all come back now; ya hear?" Yasu called chuckling to himself as Naru shut the door to the other man's little cave.

"May I escort you home Mai?" he asked.

"I'd rather just spend the night with you; in the same place I mean." She quickly clarified hoping to avoid another teasing. "I just don't know if I'll be the next on their list if I go back to my flat."

"My office has a few blankets and pillows to spare. Why not?" he said. And with that, they stepped out into the dark night; Mai clinging to the detective's arm the whole way back.

* * *

so first chapter. remember decent reviews = sneek peat at chapter 12. oh and someone please correct me if I'm wrong in how to spell Yasu's last name. REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Okay so sorry this took so long. BTW I made promo art for this so if you'd like to see itvisit my DA account; animesage17

Also, kinda long chapter, so proud of myself! But midterms are next week so don't expect an update then.

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Ghost Hunt though this plot is my own. Nobody steal it okay?

* * *

The next morning Naru awoke to the aroma of eggs frying in a pan. Slowly, he willed his body to rise; though it winced in protest from the treatment it had endured last night. Upon arriving back at the office; Naru had revealed that one of the gigantic filing cabinets could actually pull down into a bed should the need arise. He insisted Mai take the mattress; like the gentleman Luella had raised him to be, but Mai had adamantly refused claiming he needed it more than she did. This led to an argument; one which ended up with both of them sharing the bed as a compromise. Unfortunately; Mai was a rather locomotive sleeper and more than once he awoke to the sensation of an arm over some part of his torso or a leg tangled with his own. Odd, it seemed as though Mai was trying to make sure he wasn't going anywhere without her knowing. But, she liked to flop the limbs on him; he was pretty sure he had bruises under his clothes. And his arm hurt; but that was from Mai clinging to him so tightly so the pain held a sweet sentimentality he wasn't sure he could explain properly if asked to do so.

Shaking his head to focus on getting some pain reliever he went into the small kitchen his office provided. There was Mai, happily mixing the ingredients needed to make pancakes, he saw she'd also put out some bacon and completely cleaned out his sink. Just how long had she been up?

Turning to get something out of the fridge Mai saw Naru. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

Naru merely nodded; going to a small side cabinet where he kept things in case of sudden illness. As much as he hated relying on medicines instead of his own endurance; he hated doctors and hospitals even more. All those white coated people talking to him like he was an idiotic baby, saying things they thought were soothing. He nearly shuddered at the thought. Besides, it didn't hurt to have a few pain relievers around; though he had a feeling, if he stayed around Mai much longer he'd need a lot more.

Once he'd downed two small aspirin tablets in a small glass of water, he was ready for speaking. "Have a nice night?" he asked.

Mai turned her smile on him. "I can't remember a time when I've slept better! Why?"

"Never mind."

"Alright. I hope you don't mind, but I decided to make us a hearty breakfast in case we're running around all day. And I don't know about you but I'm starving after not eating dinner last night." Mai informed him.

"I saw." Was he capable of more than two word answers; yes, but not at this moment.

"Right." Mai blushed. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I think we should try and see if we can find the car that man was driving. He's probably the one who has your mother." Good, the headache was already starting to lessen and he could speak more coherently and intellectually.

"Okay, but do you mind we stop at my place first? I don't know about you but I can't pull off the same outfit two days in a row comfortably. Especially when I haven't showered."

Naru shut his eyes tight; the girl really needed to learn not to volunteer information because it was too early in the morning for any strain on his psyche. Ironically it was weird because any other female could say the same thing and he wouldn't even blink; yet this girl says it and his hormones decide to kick in.

'_Of course; because that's just the way life works.' _ He thought bitterly. _'Throws you a curveball when you think you're in control. It's too early to deal with thoughts like this. I'll psychoanalyze this later."_

Out loud, he said. "If you insist."

Mai smiled at him. He rubbed his eyes; must have been his bleary vision making it seem like light radiated from that expression, definitely the sleepy blurriness.

Sitting down on the couch Mai brought him his plate and a mug full of tea. How did she know he preferred tea to coffee? He kept both in case of the client's preferences, but he never actually drank any of it.

"Hope you like it. I'm not the finest chef in London; but I can make a simple breakfast." Mai told him.

"I suppose it's better than wasting money on going out to eat." Naru replied, taking a fork and digging in. the eggs were like none he'd ever had before. The entire meal was, but Mai didn't need to know that. "So I suppose we need to find the car the man was driving first. That shouldn't be too difficult. All Rose Noire standard cars are the same model, make, year, and color, and they all have the same decal so others know."

"How do you know that?" Mai asked, eating her own meal.

"Chance, actually." Her breakfast companion informed her. "You see I happened to be eating lunch one day when a car drove by. It was a nineteen-twenty-six Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, in black no less. At any rate it thundered past and I just so happened to glance up and see the insignia for the Rose Noire on the top right corner of the license plate. Not only that, I've managed to look at some of the cars which belonged to known members of the Rose Noire; all the same type of car, same model, same year, same color; with the same insignia on the top right corner. That's how I know what kind of car we're looking for. And I just so happen to have another, acquaintance that lives a little past where we are now who spends all day watching cars. He would know if that kind of car had passed and where it was going."

"Impressive." Was all Mai said in response. "Well, we have to head in a bit of the opposite direction before we can get back on the case. And I assume you'll want to change your clothes as well so we'll have to stop by your flat too."

"I'd rather not waste time returning to my flat Mai. I keep a spare change of clothes here, don't worry about me."

"I worry about everybody Naru, it's something you'll just have to get used to me doing." Mai replied.

"And why's that?" Naru asked, knowing why already but preferring his teasing to anything else.

Mai, however, knew exactly what he was implying and blushed prettily. "That's not funny and you know it. Of course we'll be working together for the duration of the case, or do you think I'll just sit idly by?"

"I'd prefer the latter, but I have a feeling you're going to be stubborn about it. A headache I would rather do without." Naru replied. "Now, we need to get going if we want to get anything accomplished today."

"Right. But we're going to stop at your place since I don't know how long that 'spare change' of clothes you have has been sitting there." Mai said finishing her meal and taking the plates to the sink.

"Why are you so concerned about it?" Naru asked.

"Why _aren't_ you?" Mai countered. Getting no response she continued. "Just do it please," she requested. "It's not like I'll be stealing from you or anything. I just want to make sure, besides; there might be something of use to us there. Ever thought of that?"

Minutes later they were out the door with Mai leading them to her apartment. She wove through the people in the streets with ease and grace; he figured it came from years of practice.

"Naru? Where _is_ your flat?" her voice broke through his thoughts.

"Anxious are we?" he asked, her cheeks pinked. She was doing that a lot lately.

"Not the way you're thinking. I just want to know because if it's closer we'll go there on the way to my place." Mai dismissed the unspoken reason why he thought they were going there. "Mine's near the outskirts of the northwest section of uptown, more towards the middle class section really. And yours?"

"I live in that section as well, though more towards the outskirts of the city itself." Naru replied.

"Bit of a loner aren't we?" Mai said glancing at him while heading north and west to one of the apartment buildings.

"Nothing wrong with liking my privacy Mai." He returned easily.

"True, but ostracizing yourself from society as much as you can seems a little eccentric, don't you think?"

"I don't ostracize myself; I can't remember the last time I've been inside my flat. It's easier to simply spend nights in my office with a spare change of clothes."

"Right… and that's just _so_ much better for yourself." Mai replied rolling her eyes. "At any rate, why don't we swing by your place first and stop by mine on the way back? Sound good?"

Naru sighed resignedly. "Sure…"

"Great!" she said pausing in her tracks.

"Why are you just standing there?" Naru asked after a few minutes had passed and she hadn't moved.

"Do I _look_ like I know where you live?" she asked, cocking a brow and jutting out a hip to support her hand's weight.

"That is a question to be answered at another time. Come on." He said grabbing and dragging her by her wrist.

Ten minutes later, thanks to Naru's navigation of shortcuts, they arrived at the upper crust apartment complex he lived in.

"Wow…" Mai said gazing up in awe at the edifice.

"If I didn't already know better I'd be inclined to say that was the extent of you vocabulary." Naru commented.

"Shut up." Mai glared before returning to her mindless gawk. "I've just never seen anything like it before."

"I'm not surprised." Naru muttered to himself.

"I mean; I knew you charged high rates for your services but I didn't think you could afford this place…" Mai continued, ignoring Naru's cynical brow raising.

"Even with the wages I command I couldn't afford to live in this place with my line of work. This was bought beforehand." Naru informed her.

"So what did you do before you became a detective?" Mai asked innocently enough.

Naru visibly stiffened, the memories were starting to come back, he wouldn't allow them to; he couldn't. "That is a topic that is neither appropriate nor relevant to the task at hand."

"Will you tell me eventually?" Mai pressed.

"If we ever meet again after this case is over; I'll consider it." Naru replied. "Come on, you kept bothering me about going home and getting a change of clothes. I actually want to get some work on this case accomplished today so we need to get going since we forewent your flat." He strode inside; Mai following quickly after.

It was silent as they got inside the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse. Mai seemed content, pensive even. But quiet; a bliss which Naru found was soon short-lived as it seemed so out of character for the girl. He let out a silent sigh of relief when they reached their floor and were out of the stifling confines of the metal cage.

"I should've known." Mai said with a roll of her eyes upon seeing that this flat was the largest if not the only one on this floor.

"Pardon?" he had heard her clearly the first time but wanted to see what she'd do. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing you probably haven't already heard." Mai shot back, before letting out a gasp at the interior of the room.

The living area was enormous. One wall comprised entirely of windows giving a breathtaking panoramic view of the city and countryside. The carpeting was white as fresh snow on a winter's day; more than likely due to the fact that he was such a recluse there weren't enough visitors for it to warrant cleaning. The couches were a creamish color which sat on short black legs. They were set up in an L shape, three end tables decorating the sides. Those were black as well; with a black lamp complete with white lampshade resting atop them in the center of the tables. What wasn't carpeted was gorgeous gold colored oak flooring; the design being an odd yet fascinating zigzag pattern. The walls and ceiling were off-white with black framed pictures of avant-garde artwork which probably had no relevancy to the actual owner's taste at all.

Still spellbound and reeling Mai followed her companion into his bedchambers. There she saw a cherry-wood bedframe upon which sat a comfortable looking mattress; decorated with white sheets and pillowcases and topped with a black comforter. Made and creased perfectly since whenever it was the last time it had been made had been.

Naru went to his dresser; also dark cherry-wood, and pulled out a fresh change of clothes from his drawers.

"I'm surprised." Mai commented idly.

"What are you surprised about now?" Naru asked without turning to look at her.

"That your bedhead only has the design notched into it." she replied.

"And what do you mean by that?" Naru pressed.

"Nothing, I just thought you'd have some way of organizing it." Mai answered.

"Organizing what?" Naru had a feeling he knew what direction this was heading in; he honestly hoped that for once he was wrong.

"Why, your list of course." Mai said as if it were no big deal. "Surely you mean to tell me you've never had a, female companion before? Let alone many?"

"Why are you interested in my social life?" Naru asked.

"I'm not that interested; I just figured a man of your; looks and status would have had a dozen women on his arm by now. That's all." Mai replied innocently.

"I already told you I like my privacy." Naru responded. "Especially since every girl I've ever met besides you and my mother have only been after my money. Not only that, but most women I've met are far too clingy for my tastes. And with my line of work; that's one more headache I can do without."

"Oh," Mai said noncommittally. "makes sense."

"Yes, I suppose it would." Naru replied. "Now; go wait in the living room. I'll be out in about five minutes."

True to his word he was out the bedroom door five minutes later. Mai was standing at the wall of windows watching the world go by.

"Ready to head to your flat?" he asked coming up behind her.

"Hm?" Mai asked dreamily. "Oh, yeah. Sorry; I space out like that sometimes." She said rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

Her breath caught looking at him. There was nothing new about his clothes; they were the same color and style as the ones he was wearing before, but apparently in that five minute span he found time to shower; and the light glistened off the damp skin.

"Like what you see?" Naru asked; a smirk planted firmly on his face.

Mai shook her head and refocused. "That's for me to know and you to never find out you narcissistic jerk." She teased sticking out her tongue.

"Very well, let's head out then, shall we?"

Mai was right when she had said she lived near the middle class part of town. Her flat was substantial for someone of her class. And much as he had done to the girl in his place; she had done to him at hers. Only her bathroom was not attached to her bedroom. And so Naru was subjected with trying to find a way to focus on anything besides the girl in the same vicinity.

He tried meditating, he tried counting the ceiling tiles, and he tried looking at the décor. Nothing worked. Thankfully, she came out soon; he forced himself not to look since when they had come she had headed straight for the bathroom. Once she came out fully dressed and ready to go, did he allow himself to turn from the windows.

She had exchanged her clothes from before for a different black skirt; this one significantly looser and just a tad longer and a dove gray silk button down paired with calf high boots; black of course, that looked durable despite their stylish appearance. However; she had decided to keep that ridiculous headband of hers in her hair just the same.

"Ready to go meet another one of my informants?" Naru asked.

"Yep! Let's go!" Mai cheered grabbing his arm, while foregoing her coat; and heading out the door.

Retracing their steps led them to a small café; conveniently located next to a small auto-body shop. Sitting out in the patio area of the café with a newspaper in his hand and a cup of tea sitting by his arms was the man the detective and his client had come to see.

"Morning Lin." Naru had said upon coming up to the man.

The one known as 'Lin' settled his papers to reveal his face, well as much as could be revealed with such long bangs covering his right eye.

"Morning Ol- Detective Shibuya." He replied. Changing his acquaintance's name at the last second upon seeing that someone else was with them. "What can I do for you today?"

"I need some information on a car." Naru replied, Mai not saying anything as she stood demurely behind him.

"You came to the right place then. Take a seat." He gestured to the two empty chairs on the opposite side of the table." They did so quickly as Lin folded up his paper and set it to the side. "now; brand, year, color, model, and date."

"Rolls Royce, nineteen-twenty-six, black, Silver Ghost, yesterday evening at around six-thirty pm. Outbound or inbound?"

"Saw two of 'em 'round that time yesterday. One going out towards the country, the other heading towards the docks."

"Did you get a good look at the drivers of the vehicles?" Naru asked, taking out a notebook and

"Yes, the first one had two guys in it. Very oriented and determined. Probably a rendezvous with possible allies sent by the leader of the gang."

"And the other?" Naru pressed.

"Loner; looked very nervous. By my guess, he either failed his first important mission, or he's got something going on behind the scenes of the higher ups. Very brash and a more than reckless move if it's the latter I'd say. Poor kid won't know what hits him when they catch wind of this."

"And you're sure he was heading to the docks?" Naru asked his final question.

"More than likely. He was probably carrying some sort of stolen cargo in the trunk of that car. Too bad Scotland Yard is too preoccupied with finding the Madonna right now, and that their too arrogant to want the people to report suspicious activity." Lin replied. "Why the interest in him though?"

"We think that 'stolen cargo' is this girl's mother. He more than likely hijacked her to make some extra money without the taxes involved with working for the Rose Noire." Naru answered.

Lin looked at the girl. "My condolences for this tragedy miss." He apologized.

"It's not a tragedy." Mai told him. "Not yet, and it won't be if we can catch up to him in time."

"Such optimism; you really don't see that too often…" Lin trailed off looking at Naru.

Mai seemed to sense something; she rose from her chair. "I think I'll go get some tea myself. I won't be but a moment or two." She said walking off inside the shop.

The two men watched her go, before resuming their not so blatant staring contest.

"Okay Noll, what gives?" Lin demanded.

"What do you mean by that?" Naru asked, feigning innocence.

"I know you don't take cases like this, even if Scotland Yard and all other detectives are busy. How much are you charging this girl? She doesn't look like she can afford your rates." Lin said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not charging her anything yet, mostly because I don't know how long this investigation will take." Naru replied after a moment's deliberation. "And worse comes to worse I can take her payments in installments if she can't afford the total amount up front. I might even offer her a job to help pay off another portion of it."

"But you don't like working with others. The only reason you can tolerate me being around is because I'm out here all day where I can check up on you if I feel something's wrong. Why offer this girl a job to pay you back if you can't stand people?"

Naru looked to the other side of the street for a moment, debating on whether or not he should tell his parent-appointed bodyguard the truth. But how to word it so it didn't make him look like a sap? … Perfect.

"She's better at working with people than I am. She can handle the clients while on cases limiting my interaction with them to the preliminary interview. She's also a better cook than I am, and I won't have to waste money going out all the time." There, it was the truth; but not the whole of it. The whole truth was all that, plus the fact that he loved to tease her and rile her up; just so he could see that adorable expression of hers. Wait; did he just use the word _adorable_ to describe her? He must be going soft.

Unbeknownst to the two men conversing, a set of eyes watched them from the café across the street. Sliding eyes back over to his own paper every once in a while. When the girl rejoined them with her beverage he suppressed a grin. Apparently it had been too easy. Then again, there was rarely a plan conceived by them that didn't work out in their favor. And this, well this was just a game. A game which had only just begun. Glancing over quickly he saw the girl making a gesture with her hand as she talked with the two men. It looked like a bird with a very large bill… raising from his own table the man made his way to a payphone and dialed a number.

"_Hello?"_ the voice on the other line answered in a hushed tone.

"The docks, it'll take them about ten minutes." The man replied.

"_I'll head that way now, and you better do the same."_ The voice warned him. _"We certainly don't want __**any**__ harm befalling our precious flower."_ And with that, there was a click; and the call was ended.

The man did as bid to do and headed out, throwing one last glance at the trio on the other side of the street.

The two men looked up as Mai returned with her tea. She sat down without a word and merely took a sip or two waiting for them to fill her in on what their plans are.

"so, did we decide where we're going to investigate today?" Mai asked after a moment of relative silence from the other two occupants of the table.

"We believe that the man who has your mother captive is at the docks. All the warehouses there have since been bought out and we have a feeling it would do him no good to kill your mother or put her on an outbound ship to no man's land. So naturally the most logical place would be to hide her in a place that's too large to search by one's self in its entirety, has access to a quick escape should the need arise, and has relatively good living conditions."

"The docks? That's what I was afraid of…" Mai said, hanging her head.

"Why?" Lin couldn't help but ask. Better he did, or Naru would have anyways.

"Well, mother's always disliked the sea since she and I nearly tumbled overboard on the journey home after my birth. Not only that but she also has this ridiculous fear of pelicans. Some days all I could see her doing would be cowering in a corner making the sign we made up for the bird." She demonstrated by curling her thumb and index finger together, then moving her middle finger from side to side with her ring and pinkie finger held together with her whole hand held horizontally. "But I suppose they don't really think about their victim's psychological fear when they plan things like these out, do they?" she asked sardonically and rhetorically looking at the two men at her table.

"Not likely." Naru replied anyways. "Well, if we have any hope of rescuing her before her paranoia sets in we better get going. The docks we're looking for are about a ten minute walk from here. I thank you for the information you've provided us with Lin." He finished rising from his chair.

"Me too, I just don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to her." Mai added as she too rose from her seat. "Goodbye! Hope to see you again sometime!" she called over her shoulder as the two walked away. Lin noticed the way they walked together; a stance almost akin to that of two people in love. Lin sighed, the poor boy was whipped and the two had only just begun.

They quickly maneuvered through the streets to the docks. It had taken them ten minutes as expected, and most of that time was focused on getting there as swiftly as possible without raising suspicion. There were spies everywhere; a well-known fact about the gang everyday people mostly chose to ignore. However, upon arriving at the shipyard they had to pause.

"Naru? This place is huge! How are we going to even figure out where to look first?" Mai asked him as they gazed from the other side of the fence.

"Look carefully at the warehouses." Naru advised. They stood still and silent for a few moments; letting their eyes scan the interior of their target for a few moments before Naru tugged on Mai's sleeve. "Over there," he whispered, pointing over to the far right of the area. "That warehouse doesn't have a ship near it. And since we already decided he wouldn't ship your mother outbound this would be the most strategic place to keep her."

"Also the most cliché don't you think?" Mai whispered back. She had a point, in all the American movies made about detectives they almost always featured the bad guy hiding out in a warehouse by some large body of water.

"We can discuss that later; right now we need to figure out how to get in." Naru replied.

"I have an idea," Mai said. "let's scale the fence."

"Are you stupid?" Naru asked in reply. "You're in a skirt and high heels. You won't be able to make it over like that."

Mai scoffed. "This isn't a skirt." She replied and proceeded to demonstrate by unknotting one side he hadn't even noticed was tied up. The black material billowed out into a robe reminiscent of the ones the Christian monks wore during the middle ages. He didn't even want to _know_ how she got it to turn into a skirt from that. However, without the skirt, er, robe thing on he could see she'd actually chosen to wear black capris with pencil thin dark gray stripes which were neatly tucked into her boots. "And these boots are actually very sturdy. Made by the finest shoemakers in the world. Least, that's what I was told when I got them for Christmas one year." She shrugged. "So we c_an _scale the fence mister know-it-all. Now what are we waiting for?"

With that, Mai did indeed start scaling the fence. Naru watched her for a moment before shaking his head, sighing, and starting the ascent himself. Upon reaching the top, Mai vaulted herself over with ease and landed on the ground on her feet with surprising cat-like reflex and grace.

"Impressive." Naru commented once he himself was back on solid ground.

Mai shrugged as she pulled on the cloak to protect against the water's chill factor in the air. "I used to climb everything when I was a kid. And more often than not I was too scared to come the down the way I went up. So my parents used to hold their hands out for me to jump into. It was a habit I guess I never broke." She replied. "But back to the task at hand. How are we going to sneak over there? That far end is loaded with Rose Noire goons." She said dropping her voice to a whisper once more.

"Stay to the shadows." Naru told her. And stay by my side at all times, we _really_ don't want to be caught here."

Mai nodded silently and waited for him to give the signal. Once he did they tore off as silently as possible and hid behind the backs of buildings. More than once they just narrowly escaped a guard's sight whilst running. They had almost made when they stopped to catch their breath.

"This will be the biggest challenge Mai." Naru said looking at the warehouse they were aiming for. There were at least twenty men; all dressed in black, loitering about the entrance. "Are you ready?"

He got no answer, and when he turned around to look he saw Mai in the grip of another man in black, he had one hand over her mouth and a gun pointed at him in the other.

"Don't move." He said in a gruff voice. Naru rose to his full height and put his hands by his head; showing his surrender and compliance, for the moment. "Come with me without a fight, and you won't get hurt." The man added as he marched the two forward. Mai and Naru kept silent; hands at their sides, eyes facing the ground. They were led into the very warehouse they'd been looking to get into, only this wasn't exactly how they had planned on doing it.

Once inside the man forced them to their knees on the floor and their arms behind their back. Their wrists and Naru's ankles were bound with rope, but that was the extent of their restraints.

The man who'd captured them still kept an eye on them while another one came rushing towards him. The second man whispered in his ear for a while before the first man nodded his assent and the other ran off.

"You're in luck." The man who'd captured them said. "Two of the higher-ups are here for an inspection and apparently want to deal with this themselves. However, they only want to see one person and since mister detective's hands are a little _tied_," he paused here to chuckle at his own joke. "We'll be sending you miss." He hauled Mai up to her feet and untied her wrists from behind her only to retie them to the front.

"Stay strong Mai." Naru told her as they began to lead her away." Don't say anything, not even for my life."

Mai nodded fearfully. And then Naru felt a sudden pressure at the base of his spine before he pitched forwards and blackness filled his field of vision. He could remember two last things before unconsciousness overwhelmed him. Mai calling his name in alarm, and a breeze over the top of his head. The latter meant only one thing; whomever delivered that blow had knocked his fedora off.

* * *

Before you all ask about the fedora thing; it has sentimenal value which will be explained later. Anyways: reviews make me happy, please leave one for me


	3. Chapter 3

hey everyone, happy belated Valentine's day, or for u single folks like me SAD (Singles Awareness Day)! sorry this is so late but i hit a block and i got really sidetracked with labyrinth fiction; love david bowie as the goblin king, and anyways it took a while to finish but here it is. more dialougue than actual plot but i needed a little bit of fluff. i apologize in advance if mai seems a little ooc, but i tried my best to keep her in character and still have her personality the way i wanted it for the story soo... yeah.

In other news; you all know how sporadic my updates can be, but thery're about to get alot more sporadic. I just recently got a job which I'll be starting soon; that combined with shcool and extracurricular activities will barely give me enough time to get my requred sleep hours to function, let alone write, edit, and post chapters. I won't be leaving you guys hanging completely though, as this chapter is part of my see you soon gift I am also working on another Ghost Hunt crossover which I think you guys'll like. The title, if I don't change my mind and I probably won't, will be Within Stone Walls; it'll be one of the longer ones so you'll have it to tie you guys over for the next few weeks. However, it's still in the physical writing stage, so I beg of you guys to be patient. One more thing, I already told you I posted some promo art for this story on my deviant art account: animesage17, PLEASE check it out!

Disclaimer: i take no credit for the creation of Ghost Hunt, however this story belongs to me and me alone

* * *

When consciousness slithered in through the corners of his mind the first thing he was aware of was that his head was lying on something soft, and that someone or something was touching his face. His eyes opened to see a soft gray oblivion. Slightly struggling due to his arms and legs still being bound, he looked up to see Mai's face etched with concern, slightly shadowed due to the dim lighting coming from somewhere behind him. She made a movement, drawing her hand back and he realized that's what had been touching him.

"Naru?" Mai whispered softly, almost disbelievingly. "You're awake. Are you alright?"

"I believe so…" Naru replied, trying to contort himself in an effort to sit up. He gave up after a few minutes since his attempts were fruitless. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Hours?" Mai told him, thought it was more a question than a statement. "The guy who knocked you out must have done some sort of fighting training."

"You answered my question with another question. Why?"

"Honestly, I have no idea how long it's been. When I came out of the meeting with those people, they brought me back to you and then they brought us here. There aren't any windows in this room and the only light's coming from the candle behind you." She pointed, more for the sake of letting him know the candle was behind him rather than for him to get up and look.

"Do I at least have my hat?" Naru asked with a sigh.

"Yes, I picked it up while they dragged you away." Mai replied, picking up the hat from its apparent position beside her and showing it to him.

"Why did you do that?" Naru couldn't' hide the shock evident in his tone when he heard her answer.

"I don't know, honestly." Mai shrugged. "I just had this nagging feeling you'd want it when you woke up so I grabbed it. do you want me to help you put it on?"

"I'd rather have you help me sit up and untie me first." Naru answered.

"Okay," Mai replied. She slowly lowered his head to the floor before moving slightly behind him and grabbing at his shoulders. Naru felt the dainty nails dig into him and suppressed the urge to flinch; it had been a long time since anyone had touched him. She pulled, and he pushed as much as he could in his position. When they finally got him sitting on his knees Mai moved fully behind him and began untying his binds. "There you go."

"So how exactly are we getting out of here?" Naru asked her as he could feel her gaze focused intensely on the ropes she was unknotting.

"I'm supposed to let them know when you woke up; then they'll come and escort us out. They said they apologize for the lack of comforts, but as this is a storage warehouse there aren't really any rooms made for guests."

"What exactly did you talk about when you spoke with them?"

"Well, I met them first off. They told me that though they were pretty high up they were not the ones in charge. That no one else but them has ever seen the one in charge and lived. They asked me what we were doing sneaking in here. I told them about what happened to mother and that we thought she was here. They said they'd had no idea about this and they were involved in all money aspects of the organization. And they heard about all of it. And besides that, they didn't go kidnapping someone middle class; they don't do kidnapping at all, they say it's too messy and costs more than it actually brings forth. So now they know they have a rat in their organization they don't want there. So they told me that if we could find him we could bring him in without worry of their support. But…" Mai trailed off as she moved to untie his legs.

"But what? Mai, what did you bargain?" Naru asked, trying to keep irritation and worry out of his voice; he succeeded this time.

He could almost feel Mai lowering her eyes further in guilt. "I now owe them a life debt." She said quietly.

"_What_? How could you agree to something like that?" Naru asked; exasperated by what she'd done.

"I had to, they wouldn't agree to anything else!" Mai protested, finally untying him completely and shrinking back into a far corner.

"Why?" something about the way she answered was off-putting. It wasn't necessarily her tone or inflection, but rather the speed at which she protested sounded like there was a pretty important reason for her to agree to owing the organization a life-debt.

"Since the rat, as they put it, was threatening me, they felt it necessary to let me go; but a lawman like you…" she trailed off, shuddering slightly as if they told her what their intentions were for him. "I couldn't let them hurt you. You're the only person I have right now. I felt so," she paused. "alone. When this all first started, I felt frightened. I had nowhere to turn to and then when you accepted my case, the way you were just made me feel safe. Even with mother; I haven't felt that way in a long, long time. And when they said they were going to kill you; I just couldn't let them do it." Mai shrugged helplessly and sighed. "I know this sounds like a confession, and when you look at it; it kinda is. But I can't help it; you make me feel safe, like everything's going to be okay and for them to kill you would be like taking the ground right out from under my feet."

Naru, for the first time in his young life, was absolutely and inconceivably stunned. He didn't think this girl was so emotionally attached to him that she'd give the most dangerous organization in Britain and possibly the world a life debt just to save his. He didn't realize he'd made her feel so safe, granted it was because they hadn't been in any particular danger before sneaking in here but still, it was a lot to take in.

"You really feel that way?" Naru asked without thinking.

"I-"Mai cut herself off as her cheeks flushed the brightest shade of red he'd seen yet, and that was saying a lot. "Yes." she murmured shifting her gaze to the floor again.

"I should have known." Naru replied, shaking his head.

"How so?" Mai asked, now openly inquisitive and all earlier embarrassment forgotten.

"Because you're like that," Naru told her.

"Like what?"

"You're an open book when it comes to your emotions Mai. They're practically written all over your face in bold lettering."

"Well to be honest, I myself didn't know I felt that way until I saw them knock you out as I was escorted away." Mai told him. "They did that awful thing to you and I just felt this overwhelming sense of dread."

"At any rate, why don't you go and tell them to let us go, since I'm awake."

"Okay," Mai stood up on her feet, he noticed her boots had been discarded, and knocked on the door frame.

"What?" came a low and scratchy voice.

"He's up," Mai replied. "can you let us out now?"

"Sure thing." The goon behind the door answered without a second thought. The door swung open and Naru realized that it was the same man who'd caught them before.

"Thank you Thomas." Mai said politely grabbing Naru by the arm and lightly tugging to usher him forward.

"No problem ma'am." He said tipping his hat as they walked by.

"Ma'am?" Naru said as Thomas escorted them back out into the main building.

"Being genuinely polite earns genuine etiquette in return." Mai whispered back.

"By the way, where are your boots?"

"I have them in my hands; I snagged them from right next to the door as we left." Mai replied. "I'll put them on once we get outside."

Sure enough, when they got to the main hall of the warehouse Mai took a few minutes to replace her shoes and then they were unceremoniously shoved out of the shipyard. It was true that a good few hours had passed. It was now four o'clock upon looking at the street clock at the corner; there really wasn't a lot of time to go anywhere but it was also too early to go back to the office.

"That was really rude." Mai whispered under her breath as Thomas walked away.

"Well, it's a known fact the Rose Noire aren't known for their hospitality. I consider it lucky that the worst injury sustained is that uncomfortable welt at the base of my head." Naru replied once the gates were closed behind them.

"Shouldn't you get that looked at?" Mai asked him.

"It'll be fine; I don't need to go to the doctor's."

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were afraid." Mai jibbed. "Why don't you like doctors?"

"Why do you get the impression I don't like the doctors?"

"You keep aspirin as well as a multitude of other medicinal serums in that cabinet of yours, practically everything you need except the expensive hospital equipment itself. Ergo, you are either afraid or don't like doctors." Mai replied.

"So you took advantage of my unconscious state and rifled through my belongings did you? Should I be worried about you having stolen any of my possessions?"

"I did not!" Mai snapped indignantly. "I had no idea where you kept some of the ingredients I put in breakfast this morning that's why I went looking through the cabinets and-" she stopped short. "Wait a minute, you're changing the subject! I just wanted to know why you didn't like doctors, but apparently you must be ashamed of it so you're afraid of them!" she concluded, proud she'd figured it out.

Naru sighed, this girl seemed to be sharper-witted than he thought previously. "I am not a fan of doctors Mai. I am not afraid of them, but I dislike being treated like a newborn baby whenever I have to see them; not to mention their bills are amounting to ridiculous prices these days. It's better to self-medicate and only see a professional if the need arises." He explained.

"You're afraid of needles aren't you?" Mai asked quizzically.

"Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Most people avoid doctors and hospitals for that very reason Naru; I used to be afraid of them too."

"Needles have nothing to do with why I don't like visits to the doctor's Mai." Naru replied. "I just don't like seeing them, end of story. Now, we have to figure out where we're going with this case next while it's still daylight out."

"Well, I'd say we're banned from the shipyard." Mai quipped dryly.

"A fair surmise of the situation."

"Isn't there anyone we could talk to who has known ties with the Rose Noire who isn't a criminal?" Mai asked.

Naru thought on it a moment, there was someone they could talk to; but they weren't easy to meet with. "I suppose I know of someone who could be of use, but it depends…"

"On what?"

"Are you willing to take an overnight trip?"

"By what?"

"Train."

Mai looked pensive for a few minutes. "Yeah, I guess. Should we bring an overnight bag?"

Naru looked at the clock they were standing near. "Unfortunately not. The train will be leaving in about half an hour and we still need to get to the station and buy tickets. By that time we'll just make it aboard. If you have enough money you can buy some fresh clothes at our destination."

"That depends on how far out we're going."

"Into the far country."

"Then no, not with the price of train fare these days."

"I'll take care of the tickets, we'll just have to run by my office," he looked at the clock once more. "Emphasis on run."

Mai looked at the clock as well. "Oh!" she squeaked grabbing his wrist. "We better get going!"

And they tore through the streets until reaching the office complex. Mai decided to stay outside while Naru ran up since she was in her boots. He agreed, and it took him all of five minutes to reach his office, go in and get the money, lock the door and run back down. Unfortunately, the scene he was met with coming out of the building was not one he was pleased with. Not at all.

Mai stood surrounded by a group of young men. They were talking; well more like the men were cajoling Mai, who was curled into herself a little, and looking incredibly uncomfortable and trying to get out of the situation.

"Mai," Naru called. Mai turned to him and shot him a look of grateful relief. "who are these people?"

One of the bolder men answered him. "We just wanted to take this lovely lady out for dinner. She doesn't mind at all so why don't mind your own business?"

"Really? I don't think she wants to go with you and your group of ruffians at all." He said walking over and pulling Mai to him. "After all, she prefers _my_ company much more than she would any of yours." Mai was really helping the situation; her cheeks were cherry red and she was suddenly more interested in her shoes than what was going on around her.

The other man seemed at a loss for words. Finally he was able to spit out a coherent sentence. "Well, she won't be with you forever; something will eventually part you two, and I'll laugh when it happens." He gestured to the other men and they walked away.

Naru sighed, could this girl stay out of trouble for one minute of the day?

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Um yeah." Mai mumbled, still looking at the ground. "I'm fine."

"Very well, but we might want to hurry or else we'll miss the train." Naru replied.

Mai squeaked again and grabbed his wrist, running for the train station. They got there with just enough time to purchase tickets and hop aboard the outbound train. Thankfully, Naru had gotten enough money to buy them a more comfortable space on the cars, and they now sat in their compartment side by side; breathing somewhat heavily.

"Well, I do believe we've gotten enough exercise for the day don't you?" Naru asked.

Mai nodded, still too out of breath to answer verbally. When she regained said ability she looked at Naru somewhat shyly. "Um, Naru? What do you think that guy meant when he said he would laugh when something separated us?"

"I assume he was under the impression that I was courting you." Naru replied stoically. "And that something; death or a loss of the theoretical 'love' we had would separate us. And he would laugh at my seeming despair."

"Was that really necessary? Lying to him like that?"

"It wasn't a lie, but if you wish to consider it one than it was a lie of inference. He inferred we were together because of the way you reacted."

"It would have helped if you didn't say suggestive things like that!" Mai yelled.

"Like what?"

"Like me preferring their company over any of theirs."

"And you would have preferred to go with them?"

Mai blushed and didn't answer. She stared out the window for a few minutes before feeling comfortable enough to speak again. "So, who exactly are we going to visit?"

"There is a more prominent family who has a vacation home out in the country. They are known to have theoretical ties to the Rose Noire, but there has never been any proof to back the claim; so they have not been formally accused or convicted of anything."

"Who?"

"The Hara family, we'll be seeing if we can meet with the head; otherwise we'll meet with their heir. I'm told she knows as much as the family business as the head." _'Not to mention she has a great desire to become a woman of mine; a sentiment completely one-sided on her part.' _He tacked on mentally.

"Oh, oh I excuse me a moment. I need to use the powder room." Mai said getting up and leaving the compartment. He vaguely heard her ask an attendant for directions from behind the closed door and then her echoed footsteps slightly muffled by the carpeted floor.

The phone at a desk in the woman's rang, startling her out of her musings. She picked it up gingerly out of its cradle.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver. "Oh, it's you. And where is the next destination?"… "Our associate's vacation home, I see. I'll send a message of warning of arrival. Yes, keep an eye on things alright?"… "Okay." … "Yes, it'll be sent right over. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and pressed a call button. A couple of lackeys filed into the office minutes later. She looked up at them and smirked.

"Boys, I have a delivery to be made," she said holding out an envelope with a rose seal keeping it closed. "Take this to this address," she held out another slip of paper with the destination written on it. "And give it to the person written on the outside of the envelope. When that is done, leave; and don't let yourselves be seen by anyone unnecessary. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am." They replied simultaneously, taking the envelope and the slip and heading out the door. The woman leaned forward on her desk and let out a sigh; she was getting too old for this, and she wanted to enjoy her youth while she still had some left. It was getting late; hopefully everything would turn out alright.

If asked, Naru honestly couldn't tell anyone how he'd gotten into this mess. Mai had come back from a rather brief foray to the ladies room and requested -more like demanded- her window seat back. After a polite conversation, and a few of his ribs now bruised, Naru was sitting completely still with a slight weight on his left shoulder.

That "conversation" had taken had taken place around two hours ago. Since then they'd eaten dinner and watched the sundown out the window. And now, now Naru found Mai using his shoulder as a pillow. Uncomfortable with a lot of physical contact he tried to move her; but she seemed persistent not to let him go. She, in her innocently unconscious state, had even wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest. He was extremely happy Mai was asleep, because he was blushing like a love-struck schoolboy. An outsider looking in on them might think it was rather cute; a young couple in love, snuggling on a long train ride. However, the truth of the matter was that that was not the case; however disappointing that may seem.

Wait a minute, why would this be disappointing? He was a stone-cold detective who liked nothing more than solitude and his work. It shouldn't be disappointing that he wasn't courting Mai, not at all. And yet, and yet there was this small slightly hollow feeling in the center of his chest. And at this point he felt too world-weary to analyze it further. It was only then an image came unbidden into his head, a memory from his childhood. He remembered going to the pond with his family during one of those long-gone summer days. Remembered picking up shells and looking into a reflection with a shy childish smile; and seeing the innocence and light in the sapphire blue eyes.

He woke in a cold sweat. `He almost cursed, but realized that probably wouldn't be a good idea considering the predicament he _now_ found himself in. Naru lay flat on his back on the train seat, and Mai was lying on top of him, the right side of her face resting upon his chest directly above his heart.

Mai let out a small cross between a groan, whimper, and yawn and resettled into him when Naru's shock at the position jostled his body into moving enough to warrant her notice, even semi-conscious. He watched as she made herself comfortable and fell back into sleep. He only wished he could do the same, but his awareness of what someone would think should they find the pair like this sent his anxiety levels -normally very, very low- through the roof. He knew he should wake her soon -not only would she be mortified at waking up like this but Mai had a slight tendency to turn said mortification into violence and he really didn't want any more injuries, however slight they may be-, but something kept him from doing so. She seemed so peaceful and serene, far be it from him to disturb her.

Eventually, after a great deal of both physical and mental strain, he managed to maneuver himself out from under her and reseat himself on the opposite bench. She woke up five minutes later; slightly dazed.

"Naru? What time is it?" she asked through a yawn as she pushed herself up on her hands and stretched slightly; somehow she reminded him of a cat.

"It's only seven o'clock now, and we're almost there. Should I order you breakfast or would you like to sleep until we arrive?"

"No, I've slept enough. Let's go get breakfast." Mai said standing and straightening out her clothes, slightly rumpled from sleeping.

Naru sighed and made it sound as resignedly as he could. "Very well." He acquiesced, and they left for the dining car together; where they stayed until the train announced its arrival. It was time to go.

* * *

so there you go, and before i get complaints; i write by page and this chapter is 8 pages long so i counts. anyways: REVIEW!


	4. NOT A REAL CHAPTER!

Hey everyone! Big news! As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news this needs to be said now. I habve recently gotten a job in a startup company; as such it'll be a little bit of a frenzy before things settle down but until that happens I regretfully won't be able to update what with school, afterschool activities, life in general and now this job. I apologize greatly for this and am crying as I have written this. However, until I can update again i leave you all a parting gift. A ghost hunt crossover oneshot which is long and completely finished. I hope you all take the time to read it, and enjoy it in my updating absence.

Best wishes and happy reading,

-Piercing Thorn


End file.
